Agilent/Keysight 83447A Microwave Preamplifier

The Agilent/Keysight 83447A is a lightwave trigger receiver that converts optical waveforms into electrical trigger signals for applications where external electrical clock references are unavailable. Designed for eye-diagram analysis of telecommunications optical signals, the unit operates across the 1200 nm to 1600 nm wavelength band and supports NRZ data rates from 50 Mb/s to 2.5 Gb/s.

Technical Specifications

• Wavelength Range: 1200 nm to 1600 nm


• Data Rate (NRZ): 50 Mb/s to 2.5 Gb/s


• Operating Input Power: −20 dBm to +3 dBm


• Maximum Safe Continuous Optical Input Power: 10 mW peak


• Maximum Through-Path Optical Insertion Loss: 1.5 dB


• Electrical Trigger Output Impedance: 50 ohms nominal


• Return Loss: 10 dB minimum


• Output Level (Optical Input > −15 dBm): 400 mV pk-pk


• Maximum Output Jitter (at −15 dBm): 0.012 UI (rms) below 1000 Mb/s; 0.03 UI (rms) above 1000 Mb/s


• Maximum Output Jitter (at −20 dBm): 0.02 UI (rms) below 1000 Mb/s; 0.05 UI (rms) above 1000 Mb/s

Key Features

• Direct optical-to-electrical trigger conversion eliminates dependency on external clock signals


• Low jitter performance enables high-fidelity eye-diagram measurements across the supported data rate range


• Wide dynamic range supports input signals from −20 dBm to +3 dBm


• Low insertion loss maintains optical signal integrity in pass-through configurations

Typical Applications

• Eye-diagram analysis of optical telecommunications signals


• Optical clock recovery and timing extraction


• Optical waveform characterization without external electrical references

Compatibility & Integration The 83447A integrates with lightwave test systems and oscilloscopes equipped with optical receiver inputs. Output impedance is 50 ohms, matching standard electrical measurement equipment.